We went with Vera to a place downtown. It wasn’t much from the outside—just a dingy wooden building that looked like a warehouse. No windows, or any decorations at all. Given the neighborhood, I was expecting a terrible dive bar. So I was surprised when the door opened. Vera wasn’t kidding—it really was a classy place!

It was lit up by a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In the back, some kind of jazz band was playing, with a white grand piano and a matching white bass. There was a huge bar full of colorful bottles. The center was full of tables, each with a small group sitting around it. The women were all wearing black dresses. The few men were all wearing black suits. I also noticed that most of them had a tough look, similar to Vera.

We were greeted at the front by a maître d’. She was a tall woman with short blonde hair, slicked straight back.

“Hello Vera” she greeted us. “Good to see you again. Aren’t you and your friends a little under-dressed, though?”

“Let it slide, Tashi. We just got off work, then another job. And these aren’t my friends, they just work for me.”

“Oh? Interesting.” The maître d shifted her glance from Vera to me. “Maybe the two of us can be friends then. What’s your name, stud? I’m Tashi.”

Before I could respond, Akari answered for me: “We’re just here for work. We do not need any new ‘friends’.”

“Yeah, back off!” Vera added. “Just show us to my usual table, OK?”

“Of course! Right away, Ma’am.” The waitress bowed slightly, and gestured towards a table. “Please follow me to your usual spot, the cheapest table right next to the bar. I’ll also put in an order for your usual jug of bottom shelf vodka.” Hearing this sarcastic response, Vera glared at Tashi, but didn’t say anything. We followed her to the table.

It was indeed a bad table, right next to the waiter’s station at the bar and without much view of the stage. Still, I was impressed by the overall ambiance of the place.

“So, do you come here a lot, Vera?” I asked.

“Yeah. A lot of people in the industry do.”

“You mean, the airship docking industry? I’ve never heard of this place though.”

“Yeah, dockies like you wouldn’t know it. It’s um… a different sort of crowd.”

“What kind of crowd? They look fancy. Even though they’re all wearing black.”

Instead of Vera, Akari answered me in her usual cold voice: “They’re all yakuza or mafia.”

“What!?” I looked at them again. They did seem to have a certain violent atmosphere to them. Aggressive like Vera, but darker and more sinister.

“These are all perfectly legitimate businesswomen!” said Vera. “But uh, yes, most of them are ‘organized’ into what is technically ‘crime’ under our stuffy over-protective legal system.”

I was reeling in shock. “Is it safe to be here? Are you part of them, Vera?”

“Relax, it’s perfectly safe. Just uh, don’t start any fights here, OK? And… no I’m not exactly part of them. Not now, anyway.”

“Not now???”

“I used to be part of that group over there, Dragon Gang.” Vera nodded in the direction of a large table on the other side of the room, filled with an especially tough-looking crowd. The man at the center of the big table of Vera’s old group was huge, and he was wearing an eye patch and had an ugly scar running down his cheek. Definitely someone who had been in fights before. A man next to him was tiny in comparison, but he had greasy black and cold, bulging eyes like a fish. He looked like he could kill with no moral qualms.

“The big guy in the center is named Morgan Blackstone,” she explained. “Officially he’s in charge of the water supply for this town. But he’s involved in all sorts of, uh, other business too. There’s a lot of opportunities from joining Dragon Gang. But they kept giving me the worst jobs and wouldn’t let me move up. So now I’m starting my own, independent group.”

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“You’re not just in a gang, you’re a gang leader?” I didn’t much like Vera, but I didn’t think she was a criminal.

“Please, ‘gang leader’ is such a crude term. Call me chairman, please. This is a perfectly legitimate company that I’m starting.”

“Company, huh? How many people are in it?”

“Umm… so far just you two. But more will join soon, trust me!” She winked.

“More… wait. Since when are we part of your ‘company’? And since when are you so close with Akari?”

“Since tonight, obviously. You just helped me collect money, and you even backed me up in a fight. Akari and I have our differences, but I have to admit that she’s good under pressure. You proved that you’re worthy to enter my crew!”

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to be part of your ‘crew’ or ‘company’, or gang, or whatever you want to call it. I’m leaving!” I tried to stand up, but Vera grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Eddie.”

“Yeah, you’d just join the mafia, wouldn’t you?” I was pretty angry at for dragging me into this. “I don’t do things like that. Let me go!”

“No, I’m giving you some advice for your own sake. I’m still your regular boss at your regular job, remember? Please, sit and listen to what I have to say. Or I’ll fire you tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, I sat down again. “You’re abusing your position, you know.”

“Yes. And now I’m going to abuse it some more. I’m not just the forewoman at our mooring post you know—I’ve got connections. If I fire you, you’ll never work in the air docking industry here again, and probably not in the water docks either.”

“That’s totally illegal! Right, Akari!?” I looked at Akari for confirmation.

“Yes, blackballing is illegal under employment law. However, it is difficult to enforce that law.”

Vera nodded smugly. “Yeah, so don’t try to sue or nothin’. Also, I still got some connections with the people in this room, too. Understand? Forget about finding work, they’ll make you leave town all together. Assuming they don’t just kill ya.”

I felt my blood run cold. Until tonight, I had never directly run into any mafia types, but I had certainly heard seen enough movies about them to get a bad impression. Some of the people in this room looked distinctly menacing.

“And third… this ain’t just sticks, alright? There are carrots, too! Aren’t you tired of working as a dockie, risking your life and carrying heavy-ass crates while making pennies? Don’t you want a taste of the good life? I’m talking power, money, respect… babes… everything a man could want!”

Ok, that did intrigue me a bit. Don’t blame me, I’m only human!

“How much money are we talking about?” I asked.

I had been asking Vera, but Akari answered instead. “It has been estimated that, although a few crime bosses are very rich, most average members make very little, perhaps even less than in a regular job.”

“Oh shut up!” Vera snapped at her. “Eddie, don’t listen to her. You’ll be raking in the dough, trust me! I mean, I’ll make the most since I’m the chairman, of course. But as my second, you’ll still do really well. And the girls will love you, too.” She winked at me as she said that last part. She also tried to put her arm around my shoulder, but I stopped her.

“Sorry Vera, but I don’t mix work and romance. I’m trying to get ahead—girls would only distract me. And you’re not my type, anyway.”

“What!? That’s ridiculous. How am I not your type? I’m everyone’s type! Look at these boobs!” She gestured at her very ample chest.

Akari offered a reason: “Perhaps because you are ten years older than him.”

Actually, I didn’t care about the age gap that much, but I suppose that was nicer than saying it was her personality. I chose to say nothing.

But Vera didn’t like that answer. “Shut up! What do you know about love! You don’t even have feelings!”

“I have feelings,” Akari replied. “I simply do not express them like you. But I am the same age as Eddie, and therefore a more suitable partner for him.”

“How are you a suitable partner for him! With that boy-like chest of yours, you should be dating girls!”

For just a second Akari glared at Vera, then she returned to her usual stoic face. “We should stop being distracted by emotions. What is your plan for this organization?”

“My plan? Hmm…” Vera stopped to think. Had she not thought this through at all?

“How did you find out about that group earlier?” I asked.

“Oh, them. They were a safe house for Dragon Gang, and I remembered the location from when I used to work for them.”

“Wait, so not only are you stealing, but you’re stealing from one of the most dangerous groups in town? One that you used to work for, and now you’re betraying them???”

“Shh, not so loud!” Vera glanced over at the Dragon Gang table, but they were too far away to hear. “And uh, yeah, basically. So keep it on the DL, OK?”

Akari spoke up. “That is an exceedingly risky business strategy.”

“Yeah, maybe, but that’s why it’s so profitable!”

“How profitable are we talking?” I asked.

“Well. Let’s put it this way. How much are you getting paid as an air dockie? $10 a day?”

Akari nodded, but I was angry. “I’m only getting five!”

“Ha! You’re getting exploited. Well, anyway, I just collected $1000 tonight. Your share is… let’s say $100. So that’s ten days of wages for you, just from this one night. Sound good?”

“That… is a lot of money.” I hated to admit it, but I was getting tempted. Also, what the hell, why was Akari getting paid twice as much as me? But that aside… $25 was fantastic for just a few hours of work, and I really needed it, because I was flat broke after wasting all my money gambling in that Japanese hostess club. If I kept earning this kind of money, not only would it get me back on my feet—it wouldn’t be long before I could buy my own airship, or any other kind of business I wanted!

I hated to admit it, but I felt myself falling into temptation.

“And it’s not like you have a choice anyway. If you don’t join up with me, I’ll blackball you from the docks, and one of the other gangs will jump you.” Vera added with a smirk.

So there was that, too.

Reluctantly, I agreed to join her gang.